


He Who Holds the Leash of the Cur's Collar

by mademoisellebianx



Series: Fancy Rat [2]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Classic Kylux, Denial of Feelings, Enemies to Lovers, Explicit Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Dubious Consent, M/M, Minor Character Death, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Child Abuse, Past Poe Dameron/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Trust Issues, consort!Hux
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-10-24 22:40:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17713013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mademoisellebianx/pseuds/mademoisellebianx
Summary: Prequel to 'They Who Hold The Galaxy Upon a String'.Kylo Ren had never trusted General Armitage Hux. After former Supreme Leader Snoke's funeral, General Hux proposed a truce. Kylo knew that the scheming rat had a plan and would use this to his advantage. However, he knew how to play his cards right. He humored the General, meaning to push him to his limits. Unfortunately, Kylo was unable to foresee the consequences of having someone in such close proximity every second of every cycle.





	He Who Holds the Leash of the Cur's Collar

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! It's me again. I have had this written in FOREVER. I apologize for the delay but here it is finally! The prequel to 'They Who Hold The Galaxy Upon a String'. You may read this first if you haven't read the fic I mentioned. If you did read the first fic already, thank you so much for sticking around!  
> I was hoping to write this as a one-shot but, holy hell, was it getting too long for comfort so I decided to cut it to three parts.  
> Just like 'They Who Hold The Galaxy Upon a String', this is un-beta'd so I'm sorry if there are grammatical errors and typos in there.  
> Anyway, here we go~

Silence.

Ben Solo was once advised by his Jedi master and uncle that silence could bring the peace he so needed inside him. Luke Skywalker sensed his turbulent emotions the moment he stepped onto the Jedi temple. It was as if Ben Solo’s bitterness, loneliness, hatred, avarice and anger seeped out of him then so openly, as though his emotions had been brought out of him and had manifested into something viscous as syrup and black as soot and tar. Luke Skywalker wanted to help him get rid of this stain from him, even if Ben Solo didn’t want these emotions – those that attract the Dark Side – because he _loved_ the feel of how these emotions made his blood boil, made adrenaline pump through his body and made him keener to the presence of the Force. They made him feel _powerful_.

Silence.

Luke had been right that silence would help Ben Solo but not in the way he thought it would. Without anyone’s knowledge, the boy had been communicating with a disembodied voice in his head for years. The foolish child thought he was a friend and so he protected him and kept his existence a secret. His friend spoke to him of the greatness of his grandfather, Darth Vader, and how he himself is destined for the greatness Darth Vader was unable to grasp, told him how his parents betrayed him for not revealing his bloodline to him and told him that his family were holding him back because they think he is a monster.

The silence during their daily Jedi meditation helped make the voice in his head louder and helped improve their communication. It only took a single invitation from the former Supreme Leader Snoke for him to join the First Order, for Kylo Ren to be born and for Ben Solo to die and the Jedi along with him. Kylo Ren rose in the ashes of boy who was more of a figment of dreams and hopes than a person and along with him came the Knights of Ren, former young Jedi padawans who also stripped themselves from the chains of the Jedi Order and swore their fervent loyalty to Kylo Ren instead.

Silence became his most loyal and most trusted companion in the First Order. Even with Snoke constantly inside his head, even with the numerous soldiers under his command, Snoke wanted him to stray away from his Knights because he thought Kylo wasn’t ready to lead the army he personally assembled yet. In Snoke’s eyes, Kylo was never ready, Kylo was always a failure but he strived to please the former Supreme Leader, his former Master; slaughtering countless nameless fools as well as Ben Solo’s own father for him in order to have a stronger grasp of the Dark Side’s power. Kylo worked so damn hard and yet, what did it leave him with, following that ancient bastard’s instructions? Nothing but a hollow, disconnected feeling inside himself and _weaker_ than before.

_Breathe in._

It was only when he was connected with the scavenger, Rey, that he came to realize that Snoke was using him. It did not take Kylo long to figure out that it was Snoke who connected them through the Force because he and Rey weren’t both powerful enough to do it on their own. Snoke used him as bait to lure the stupid, naïve girl to him. Snoke’s greatest folly is that he underestimated his own apprentice and overestimated his value and control over him. He learned to his mistake of betraying Kylo’s trust when Kylo ignited Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber and cut him in half.

_Breathe out._

Rey was another fool who betrayed Kylo when she refused his invitation to rule the galaxy with him. He will make her pay. With the connection Snoke forged between them now severed, Kylo finds it difficult to locate her and the other members of the Resistance. He’s contacted his Knights after the battle in Crait, as soon as he’s found a quiet place on the Finalizer to meditate. He and his Knights were reunited soon afterwards, Hux was there when he welcomed them and his facial expression looked priceless. His Knights were unable to find the Resistance but nevertheless, Kylo was only glad to be reunited with all six of them and they were more than willing to stay and serve the most powerful man of the First Order.

_‘Ben.’_

Kylo opens his eyes; jolting in shock when he feels a cold gush of wind passing through him, whispering that _blasted_ name in his ear and pulling him out of his meditation. The voice sounded so damn close, as though there was actually someone or something beside him, face or mouth close to his ear, hot breath against the shell of his ear. He looks around him, seeing the jet black walls (he didn’t want it red like Snoke’s) of his throne room and... It’s empty as he _is_ alone there as he wanted to be. Wait – there is someone else there. How was he unable to detect their presence before they were able to enter?

“Excuse me,” a familiar and grating voice calls out to him. He even had the audacity to clear his throat.

Kylo snorts, irritated as he recognizes that voice. He looks down from his throne and sees the irksome face of General Armitage Hux, looking up at him from where he’s seated on. Hux is wearing that usual fake smile of his, the one he wears when he wishes to look pleasing in front of someone he ‘secretly’ hates – something Kylo has seen a thousand times already. “I came to congratulate you for the successful funeral of former Supreme Leader Snoke, as well as the success of your formal coronation as Supreme Leader.”

That’s what he is saying, but Kylo could sense his disgust; it sits heavy in his stomach, turning it. Hux is fighting off the desire to throw up. During Snoke’s funeral, while Kylo was speaking his eulogy for his traitor of a former Master, Hux quietly stood by Kylo; thrumming with suspecting and presumptuous energy. He does not believe Kylo’s story regarding what happened in the throne room – that the girl _alone_ killed Snoke and the Praetorian guards and knocked Kylo out. Kylo wouldn’t blame Hux to be suspicious because that wasn’t the best lie he’s ever told Hux but given the circumstances then, it’s the best he could give.

Being the General who was favored by Snoke, who personally attended to Snoke’s orders, Kylo decided it was fitting that Hux be the one to give the speech to formalize his position as Supreme Leader. It was also out of some juvenile spite. Hux’s nose flared but he masked his irritation with a nod of his head and a thin smile while remarking how honored he was to be chosen.

“What do you want?” Kylo asks, not having any of Hux’s fake pleasantries. His voice is sharp and low; intimidating as he wants it to be. Immediately, Hux’s smile falls and a frigid and determined expression replaces it. “I know you didn’t come here to congratulate me. It’s actually killing you to say those words.”

Hux, similar to the droid-like Imperials around them, is very predictable. Working side by side with him has given Kylo access to observe and study him, not because he wanted to or because he needed to and most definitely not because Hux is worth his attention, but because he just _can_.

“Supreme Leader,” Hux starts, pushing aside any of his plans of acting friendly in front of Kylo. “I’ve been trying to get in contact with you for the past hours but you have not been answering my comm messages. I wished to speak with you in private.”

“Isn’t it obvious to you that the reason I am not answering your comm messages is that I didn’t want to speak with you?”

“Sir,” Hux bites his lower lip. He’s angry, his face red and sweaty. Kylo finds it laughable how much he is trying to stop himself from huffing and puffing like a kriffing bantha. Hux takes a sharp inhale of breath through his nose before continuing and when he does, his voice is shaking. “I wanted to propose a truce.”

“A truce?” Kylo echoes, raising an eyebrow.

“This is tiring, wouldn't you agree? Our constant infighting, this rivalry that never seem to end despite the former Supreme Leader’s passing, this ugly animosity between us. With the two of us acting like kriffing children, the First Order would not survive long no matter how much stronger we are compared to the Resistance,” Hux says. “I stand here today to offer my sincerest fealty to you, Supreme Leader, for the good of the Order.”

Hux has a way with words, Kylo knows that. He also knows that Hux has a rather outstanding history of being a conniving little weasel. In the past, Hux rose in power because of his father’s influence, and not because of his expertise or experience in fighting, but Kylo has heard rumors that he’s had his rivals eliminated in order for him to get the title he desired. He’s had Phasma kill his father, Brendol Hux, in order to become General. Hux is clever and devious. That was the reason why he decided to keep him close after murdering Snoke and heading to Crait.

‘A cur’s weakness, properly manipulated, could be a sharp tool,’ was Snoke’s last advice to him. It was an advice that, perhaps, Kylo could somehow entertain. Even though he may be a coward hiding behind his army as they fight while he barked orders after orders and behind his much experienced and much more competent subordinates, Hux could be of use to Kylo if he were his ally. He’s allowed Hux to live for this long, it's just right to find a better use of him. Truth is, Kylo wanted him dead in the throne room of the Supremacy. He stopped air from coming into his lungs, forced him on his knees until he relented from his petulance and acknowledged him as the next Supreme Leader, and yet, for some reason, he didn't kill him. Hux isn't of high importance - there are other Generals in the First Order, ones who don't have any desires to steal the throne from him! Is it necessary to keep him alive?

Kylo stares at Hux, watching his body language. Snoke called him a rabid cur but Kylo doesn't quite agree with that sentiment. Hux is more like a rat - a dirty, rotten, hideous, resilient survivor that refuses to die no matter how much grueling hardships it's been through. Kylo kind of respects that, although that respect is but small and shallow and surely it would easily get sidelined as soon as Hux opens his damn mouth.

Hux squares his shoulders, keeping his hands behind him. Kylo could almost hear the slight creaking of the leather of his gloves. He's digging his fingers into the meat of his palm. Hux is _desperate_ , it’s reeking from him and clinging to him like the stench of an unbathed dog. Kylo sneers. He's pushed to his furthest corners like a trapped animal. With Phasma dead, he doesn't have anyone as competent to conspire with and after all the failures he’s had and abuse he’s suffered in the hands of Snoke _and_ Kylo in front of his crew, his men’s respect for him is almost non-existent. The older imperials like Captain Peavey never had respect for him and despised him, their opinions on Hux almost the same as Kylo - that Hux is not worthy of his position. Hux is desperate because he's finally realized that he has no allies left and so-called allies are powerless against Kylo and his Knights. He's drawing the final card of his deck. Or this is just an act. A cornered animal is one that is both vulnerable and dangerous - he is no idiot; this is the moment he should be more alert to what Hux could be planning. Kylo has to play his cards right.

“Have you already lost patience in waiting for me to fall deep into my delusions, General?” Kylo asks, cocking his head to the side as though he is sincerely curious. “Wasn't that your original plan? Wait for me to succumb to my insane delusions so it would be easier for me to be disposed of by you - no, by your men. You’ll never let your hands to get dirty.”

‘Let him know you know,’ Kylo tells himself.

Clearly, the General’s thoughts regarding Kylo being delusional is misplaced. The bastard who was born from a crumbling empire, whose father was unremarkable and pathetic, believes _he_ could rule the galaxy, that _he_ is the one who’s destined to restore order in the universe compared to Darth Vader’s heir. It’s _obvious_ who the delusional one here is.

Pale red fills Hux’s cheeks. He opens and closes his mouth, tongue probably dry as though he had been forced to swallow down liters of sand. It’s entertaining to watch as the obnoxiously articulate redhead scrambles desperately for words. Hux has never been known to have the calmest temperament in the First Order (Kylo is one to talk when he himself is nothing close to the word ‘calm’) but he does a good job putting on a calm exterior.

“You have a very loud mind, General Hux,” Kylo explains. “You might think otherwise but you're wrong. It's a mystery how Snoke was unable to detect your treasonous desires for the throne when you were broadcasting it loud and clear.”

That's a bit of an overstatement. Hux wasn't entirely ‘broadcasting’ his thoughts for everyone to hear. For a Force-null, he’s _quite_ skilled in hiding his thoughts from both him and Snoke. Kylo has had his suspicions before because he’s heard a few stray thoughts that slipped from the General’s mind, manifesting as almost inaudible whispers. He didn't tell Snoke about it. Hux was never worthy of his attention, never worthy to be bothered with. As if anything Hux would do as a drastic attempt to usurp Snoke would be anything but failure.

“Let me remind you that you pulled your blaster at me while I lie there in Snoke’s burning throne room, beaten and bleeding.”

“Ren -”

“ _Supreme Leader_ ,” Kylo corrects him, tutting as though he were speaking to a child. Hux looks like he is prepared to march up the steps and head towards the throne where Kylo sits and bite him. He grits his teeth; silencing whatever foul words he wanted to shout at Kylo. Leather creaks. He is pressing his nails harder into his palm and Kylo notices his lower eyelid twitching in pain. “Now, tell me, how can I trust you when I know that you're a _traitorous_ thing? In fact, why should I keep you alive at all?”

“Supreme Leader, I assure you, I have my uses,” with a trembling voice, Hux speaks. He addresses Kylo’s title slowly and Kylo has to admit, he enjoys hearing Hux calling him ‘Supreme Leader’ – not that he enjoys hearing Hux’s voice, he just finds it amusing how pissed Hux looks when he addresses him that way.

“So does every single officer here,” says the Supreme Leader with a shrug of his broad shoulders. “Like you, they have their uses.”

“They can't do what _I_ can!”

Petulant. Raising his voice alone to the Supreme Leader warrants another display of Kylo's authority and another show of Hux’s rightful place but Kylo couldn't let his own emotions get in the way again, couldn't let himself commit the same mistake he’s made during his final face-off with Luke. Let the mad bastard son of a mad man lose what’s left of his cool.

“True, no one can lose as many resources and as many men within a span of a few days like you did, General Hux.”

“I was personally chosen by former Supreme Leader Snoke; he believed in me and my abilities. Surely that puts me above the other Generals of the First Order, Supreme Leader,” persistently, Hux argues. It is apparent how he is trying his best to keep his jaw from locking and his teeth from clenching as he speaks. He’s calm exterior slowly crumbling right in front of Kylo’s eyes.

“Tell me why I should trust you.”

Gently, Kylo reaches out with the Force. He watches with glee as Hux squirms at feeling its ghostly fingers stroking his neck in a parody of a lover’s caress. The action brought back such unpleasant memories to the General - Kylo raised his arm towards his direction and closed his fist and at that, his neck closed in from the inside. He could not breathe. Tears welled up his eyes as he choked and sputtered, trying his best to form words ‘ _Long live the Supreme Leader’_.

His face turns redder, his feedback seering white-hot with rage. “I saved you from certain death back on Starkiller base!”

That's true, Hux did. He’s thinking of it now. Kylo could see the memory playing in the General’s mind like a holo. Hux furiously stomped across the snow, letting his snowtroopers walk in front of him. He barked at them; pointing towards where the tracker he held in his hand was leading him to. They reached a pathetic unconscious mess of a man, bleeding and broken and, oh, so vulnerable. Hux noticed that the fool – Kylo feels his disdain and disgust for that unconscious fellow rising from the General right now just by remembering _this_ – was branded by his failure, marked with a hideous mark on his face. It was so easy then to pull out his blaster and put Kylo kriffing Ren out of his misery, but he can’t do that – not when there were witnesses, not when Snoke specifically ordered him to get his sad excuse of an apprentice.

“Because Snoke commanded you to,” Kylo scoffs; seeing right through Hux’s _banthashit._ “If Snoke didn’t tell you to save me, would you have come and got me? If you were alone, if the snowtroopers weren’t there, could you have pushed through with shooting my head clean off of my neck with your blaster?”

The General’s Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows hard, knowing full well that Kylo has him cornered. His mind is racing, his resolve sifting through his fingers like sand - no matter how hard he tries to grasp hold of it, he couldn’t stop it from just flowing and flowing.

“You know the answer to those questions, General Hux,” says Kylo when Hux continues to grasp for the right words to say. As if there are appropriate words to say to excuse himself from thinking and acting that way, without angering Kylo or jeopardize this whole act. “You don’t have to think deep.”

“I can be loyal, Lord Ren,” the General insists. “For the Order, for the realization of the goal of which we share - the destruction of the filth if the galaxy which is the Resistance.”

Yes, there is no doubt that Hux is loyal to the First Order. Always for the Order and not for its Supreme Leader, unless the Supreme Leader is himself.

Hux seems to realize this and adds, “I can be loyal to you, Sir.”

Kylo doesn’t miss that tremble of the General’s lower lip, that tiny twitch on his lower eyelid as Kylo continues to stare at him in silence. It brings him great joy to see how uncomfortable and revolted Hux had been in saying those words. He doesn't mean it, of course; Hux would be aiming for his throat the second he gets distracted and bears them for him. No matter how much you feed and coddle a rabid cur, he will remain untamed, wild and treacherous, but a rabid cur could be a wonderful little attack dog. Despite lacking the respect and trust of his subordinates, Hux still commands their army and as much as it disgusts Kylo to admit it, _he_ needs him. Kylo could strip him off of his title, replace him with an obedient lackey but there's no one in this ship that Kylo has known for as long as he's known Hux who he could trust. His Knights may be there but they have no idea how it is to command an army.

Snoke did not, in fact, believe in Hux or his abilities. He chose the red-haired man because Armitage Hux has a weakness that’s easily exploited and Snoke thrived in using one’s weakness against them. Hux yearns for the approval and attention; he’s vain and arrogant – Snoke’s perfect puppet. Now, Hux is _his_ perfect puppet.

“Prove it.”

The challenge sparks something in Hux’s eyes – the very same shimmer that shows up whenever Kylo gets in his face, questions his methods and disregards their formerly equal status in the First Order. Rage, contempt and determination beautifully blending with each other in that single look – Kylo feeds on it.

Even when he is wearing his oversized greatcoat, he still looks small. Strange how different their size is despite how their little height difference is. Kylo stands from the throne, staring at the _puny_ form of the General. He could sense how fast his heart is beating even from a distance.

“Calm yourself, General.”

Slowly descending from his throne, Kylo chuckles, which only increases Hux’s irritation. Hux hates how dramatic Kylo looks right now, how it seems like he’s rehearsed this a million times, as though this were a mere play and that Hux doesn’t have so much at stake.

“I’ve told myself that I should let the past die, so maybe I could put our rivalry behind. I must admit, I’m intrigued by your proposal. As long as you could prove your complete and unyielding loyalty to me then I accept.”

Hux’s face begins to brighten. Letting out a sigh of relief, his shoulders relax as the tension leaves his body. It’s quite remarkable how Hux thinks Kylo’s fascination for his proposal and accepting it already marks his triumph. He seems to have forgotten that Kylo _knows_ he is plotting, that he knows his possible devious little schemes of trying to lure Kylo into trusting him before stabbing him in the back.

“Thank you, Sir, I -”

“On one condition.”

“Certainly.”

Kylo eyes Hux. He’s wondering what Kylo would ask him to do and he’s fiercely confident. What dangerous and challenging endeavour could the great Kylo Ren have him face? Quietly, Kylo hums; contemplating what he could ask Hux - something to keep him close, something that would constantly remind him of his rightful place in the First Order hierarchy, and something that could benefit Kylo. Clearly, he couldn't use Hux the way he wanted to use Rey because _he_ isn't a powerful Force user like her and their weaknesses are completely different - he couldn't exploit Hux the way he did with that lonely and filthy scavenger.

“Be my consort.”

It took a few seconds for Hux to respond to this. Kylo could not blame him. It sounds ludicrous even to him.

“I beg your pardon?” The corner of his mouth curves to an almost humorous smile. He thinks Kylo is actually _joking_.

“Be my consort,” Kylo repeats, speaking firmly this time to indicate that he’s a hundred percent serious - because he _is_ serious. He walks towards Hux, watching as the General wipes that silly almost-grin off of his face. Each step he makes visibly increasing Hux’s discomfort and… Oh, he's utterly frightened.

Although straight-faced, he’s shaking in his boots and he seems to shrink back and away from Kylo. This is different from the General Hux who got in his face when he questioned the abilities of his men and his methods, different from the triumphant and proud man who was about to use the superweapon he’s designed against his enemies. Maybe Starkiller’s destruction has affected him greater than Kylo had anticipated, or his use of the Force against him has had him terrified. That should be expected. Hux, the simpleton, doesn’t understand how the Force works, doesn’t know what the Force truly is and, naturally, he’s scared of something he couldn’t comprehend. Or perhaps, this is the true Hux. He's stripped from Snoke’s protection and vulnerable to more abuses from a man who clearly made it apparent that he hates him and who had not hesitated to hurt him. Snoke has hurt Hux before, that Kylo is certain of because he was there to witness it. Snoke, however, didn't do so out of a whim or out of a desire to exercise his power over him. No, Snoke did it to punish him and to make sure that he understands the consequences of failure. Kylo hurt Hux to prove that he can.

“As the Supreme Leader’s consort, you would escort me to bureaucratic missions and diplomatic meetings, you would _always_ stay by my side, you would listen to me and obey me without question and you should be there when I need you. I am aware that a marriage between us is necessary for this, but I don’t need you to marry me nor do I want to. You will be obedient and good, only then will you prove to me how loyal you are,” Kylo says, calmly; skirting around the redhead like how a hunter would do to intimidate its prey. For a supposedly meek prey, Hux holds himself well against Kylo’s glare, although he is trembling a little, he doesn’t squirm or panic or break. It’s almost impressive how he can still hold himself together despite having almost nothing under his control. Kylo continues, “I promise not to hurt you. Not again.”

Hux’s face darkens when Kylo casually brings up the time he’s hurt him. He hasn’t completely recovered from Force choke, the broken ribs and back pain from Kylo slamming him against the wall so hard that he lost consciousness during the most of the events on Crait. Kylo still wonders if he’s seen him battling Skywalker’s projection. Probably. But what does it matter? Kylo didn’t bring as much humiliation in the Order as Hux did, with his silly superweapon and his peevish and arrogant displays of his faulty and impractical strategies. Technology can only do so much but its uses are always so limited; meanwhile, the Force is vast and infinite, it isn't limited to what it was programmed to do and this is why Hux would never triumph against him.

“Very well,” Hux sighs, exasperate but dutiful. He bows his head, more to cover his coloring cheeks than to show courtesy. “I am but a cog in the machine that you control, Supreme Leader. If it is your will then so be it.”

**Author's Note:**

> I do have the next parts written already but I will apologize in advance if it'll still take long for me to update. But thank you so much for reading this, y'all! <3  
> Come say hi to me [here](https://mademoisellebianx.tumblr.com/) on tumblr.


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